1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to Etched tri-Metal xe2x80x9cETMxe2x80x9d electronic circuit assemblies and more particularly to a connector and a method for making a connection from one ETM circuit to another ETM circuit using the connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of electronics manufacturing, various additive and subtractive processes are known for constructing printed circuit boards (PCBs). Among these are the processes disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,801,388 issued on Apr. 2, 1974 to Akiyama et al. which is a subtractive process; U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,059 issued on Sep. 13, 1983 to Livshits et al is an additive process; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,797 issued on Apr. 14, 1998 to Belke, Jr. et al that is assigned to a common assignee which is a subtractive process. All three of these patents are incorporated herein by reference. These patents describe various additive and subtractive plating and chemical etching processes for constructing multi-layer PCBs having air bridges.
The air bridge structures disclosed in these patents are useful in offering design flexibility and printed circuit board real estate savings as far as routing and layout of circuit traces. However, these patents do not disclose or suggest any approach for accommodating certain circuit board interconnect processes such as connecting one ETM circuit structure to a her ETM circuit structure.
In the prior art, interconnecting PCBs had to have in-lined plated-through holes. These holes, in each PCB, had to be carefully registered with the correspond hole in the other PCB. When the holes were aligned, either a solder joint was formed or an interconnecting pin was inserted in the holes and the hole was filled with solder. Such a process was an expensive method when utilizing multi-layer ETM circuit structures.
It is a principal advantage of the present invention to interconnect two ETM circuit structures in a less costly manner.
It is another advantage to form an interconnection between two ETM circuit structures with a connection that is sufficient to carry the designed amount of current density and not be either over-designed or under-designed.
It is yet another advantage to form an interconnection that has the necessary strength to maintain the circuit operation that is to be performed by the printed circuit board.
These and other advantages will become apparent from a connector fabricated as illustrated and described herein. The method for fabricating a connector for interconnecting Etched Tri-Metal, ETM, circuit structures has the steps of first forming on a first ETM circuit structure one or more connector-pedestal structures fabricated thereon for the purpose of forming one portion of a connector. Next, on a second ETM circuit structure there is formed one or more connector-pedestal structures fabricated thereon for the purpose of forming another portion of a connector. A bonding material is then spread on the second ETM structure for joining the connector-pedestal structures of the first ETM circuit in an interlocking manner with the connector-pedestal structures of the second ETM circuit. The two ETM circuit structures are then meshed in such a manner that the bonding material flows about and around the connector-pedestals on each of the first and second ETM circuits. To secure the connection the bonding material is activated forming both an electrical and structural bond between the connector-pedestals of the first and second ETM circuits.